CARLOS’ HOUSE OF SPICE
FROM APRIL/MAY 2021 ISSUE OF WEST END PHOENIX
CARLOS’ HOUSE OF SPICE
190 AUGUSTA AVE.
“AS LONG AS I HAVE MY HEALTH AND A KICK IN THE BUTT, I’M GOING TO BE HERE”
It was 1977 when a 15-year-old, shaggy-haired Carlos Pereira stepped into House of Spice for the first time, his pants so short they called him Floods. It was an era of overflowing fruit stands, chicken runs and big collars. Kensington Market was a different game back then. “The older generation would come with their big bags and fill up on everything,” Pereira says. “There were 24 fish markets here then, now only a few. Tom’s Place was just a tiny garage; now they span six or seven shops.”
Pereira worked for the original owners of House of Spice for 35 years, then bought the business in 2012. The part-time job he took as a teenager became his life’s passion. “I just added my name to the sign,” he says. When I stop by the tiny, one-storey shop in March, he’s welcoming and quick to laugh. “We have the biggest selection of coffee, tea, spices, nuts, beans,” he says. His phone rings while we’re chatting. The ringtone is AC/DC’s “Back in Black.” “Sorry, my dear,” he says as he takes the call, switching to Portuguese. While he’s chatting, I wander the aisles. Dry goods are the soul of the business, but there are soaps, incense and towering shelves of hot sauces and hard-to-find specialty items, too.
Pereira wraps up his call. “My mother,” he says. “She calls twice a day, at least.”
With a wave, he motions downstairs to his mixing room with turmeric-covered hands, eyes smiling above his mask. Tight-packed bags of spices line the walls in the low-ceilinged bunker where he works his magic while listening to classic rock.
He’s known for his personalized spice and coffee blends, and not just in Toronto. A café in Montreal just ordered 1,000 pounds of “Carlos’ Thai Blend.” Mixing up to 18 spices per blend, Pereira knows intuitively when each one is perfect by scent, colour and consistency, knowledge only experience can impart. That’s why he says, “If you want a spice or a mix, it’s important that I do that for you.”
He clearly takes pride in the shop – what it means to his customer base of chefs and home cooks and to his community, which is tight-knit, cultivated over 43 years in the Market.
“It’s not always about money, it’s about respect,” he says. “I have people who help me; we help people. We are a community that supports each other. It’s not fair that others are struggling and can’t afford the rent. It really bothers me. We try to stay together and be positive.”
Still, for all he worries, he has no plans to go anywhere.
“I’m very motivated to be here. I always want to learn,” Pereira, who is excited to become a grandfather this year, says. “I think of all the friends we’ve made and friends we’ve lost, but if we can still put a smile on people’s faces, that’s good. I’m not a young boy anymore, but as long as I have my health and a kick in the butt, I’m going to be here.”